Roy Urquhart

Roy Urquhart (28 November 1901-13 December 1988) was a Major-General in the British Army during World War II and the Malaysian Emergency. He served as the commander of the British 1st Airborne Division during Operation Market Garden, during which his division dropped into the Netherlands with 10,000 men and left with 2,000.

Biography
Roy Urquhart was born in London, England on 28 November 1901, the son of a Scottish dentist. He attended the Royal Military College, Sandhurst before being commissioned into the British Army in 1920, and he served in the British Raj during the early years of World War II. He was later sent to North Africa as a staff officer, and he briefly led an infantry brigade group during the 1943 Operation Husky invasion of Sicily. In 1944, he was given his first major command when he was given command of the British 1st Airborne Division, despite being prone to airsickness. His division was sent to secure Arnhem from the Germans during Operation Market Garden in September 1944, and his division was dropped 12 kilometers away from the town due to the area near the bridge having unsuitable terrain. The division's jeeps either landed off course or were shot up in an ambush, and his division had to head to Arnhem on foot. For nine days, his division had to fight off the II SS Panzer Corps unsupported, and his division suffered heavy losses; he entered Arnhem with 10,000 troops, and he left with 2,000. Urquhart had to swim the Rhine River in order to escape, and his division, with just a quarter of its old strength, never saw action again. After the German surrender in May 1945, his division was sent to occupied Norway, and he served as general officer commanding Malaya from 1950 to 1952. He retired from the army in 1955, and he died in 1988.